Jeremiah 36:1-7: a reflection

1In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2“Take a scroll of a book, and write in it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day. 3It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I intend to do to them, that they may each return from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” 4Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the LORD’s words, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book. 5Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am restricted. I can’t go into the LORD’s house. 6Therefore you go, and read from the scroll which you have written from my mouth, the LORD’s words, in the ears of the people in the LORD’s house on the fast day. Also you shall read them in the ears of all Judah who come out of their cities. 7It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will each return from his evil way; for the LORD has pronounced great anger and wrath against this people.”

When God tells Jeremiah to write down all his words of warning on a scroll and have them read to the people, the reason he gives reveals the heart behind his warnings. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I intend to do to them, God says, that they may each return from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. The warning was not sent to condemn but in hope, that hearing it, the people might turn from their evil and be forgiven. God's warnings flow from his desire that his people turn and be forgiven, not from a wish to destroy them. Behind the sober words of coming judgment lay a merciful hope: that they may return, that I may forgive. God warns because he desires to forgive; his warnings are an invitation to return, offered in hope of pardon.

Notice the heart behind God's warning: that they may return, and that he may forgive. He did not send the scroll of warning out of a wish to condemn or destroy; he sent it in hope, that hearing of the coming judgment, the people might turn from their evil ways and be forgiven. The warning was an invitation to repentance, offered so that pardon might follow. God's desire, even in warning, was not the ruin of his people but their return and forgiveness. This tells us something about God's warnings: they flow from mercy, not malice; they are given in hope that we will turn and be forgiven, not in eagerness to condemn. The sober word of judgment is an invitation to repent, sent by a God who would rather forgive. God warns because he desires to pardon; his warnings are the voice of a mercy that hopes for our return.

That is worth taking to heart, for God's warnings flow from his desire that we turn and be forgiven, not from a wish to condemn. We can hear God's warnings as mere threats, the voice of a God eager to condemn; but God had Jeremiah write the scroll in hope that the people would hear, return from their evil, and be forgiven. His warnings are invitations to repentance, sent by a God who would rather pardon than destroy. To hear a warning of God rightly is to hear in it his desire that we turn and be forgiven. Do not hear God's warnings as mere threats from a God eager to condemn; hear in them his desire that you turn and be forgiven. Hear God's warnings as flowing from his desire that you turn and be forgiven rather than from a wish to condemn, as God had Jeremiah write the scroll in hope that the people would return from their evil and he might forgive their sin; for God warns not out of eagerness to destroy but out of mercy, and his warnings are invitations to repentance, the voice of a God who would rather pardon than condemn and who hopes, even in warning, for our return.

Lord, when you tell Jeremiah to write down all your words of warning on a scroll and have them read to the people, the reason you give reveals the heart behind your warnings. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I intend to do to them, you say, that they may each return from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. The warning was not sent to condemn but in hope, that hearing it, the people might turn from their evil and be forgiven. Your warnings flow from your desire that your people turn and be forgiven, not from a wish to destroy them. Show me the heart behind your warning: that they may return, and that you may forgive. You did not send the scroll out of a wish to condemn or destroy; you sent it in hope, that hearing of the coming judgment, the people might turn from their evil ways and be forgiven. The warning was an invitation to repentance, offered so that pardon might follow. Your desire, even in warning, was not the ruin of your people but their return and forgiveness. Your warnings flow from mercy, not malice. Take that to my heart, for your warnings flow from your desire that I turn and be forgiven, not from a wish to condemn. I can hear your warnings as mere threats, the voice of a God eager to condemn; but you had Jeremiah write the scroll in hope that the people would return and be forgiven. Your warnings are invitations to repentance. Keep me from hearing your warnings as mere threats from a God eager to condemn; help me hear in them your desire that I turn and be forgiven, Lord, as you had Jeremiah write the scroll in hope that the people would return and you might forgive.